Cafe Rule Wine Bar Restaurant - Hickory

Overall not the best experience. They were out of several foods and we were some of the first guests in the restaurant. 20+ minutes after ordering we were informed that the major things we had ordered were not in stock. The burger was not worth $22 and the fries were cold, our other dish was bland and the hash browns were soggy. The overall wait time for our food was close to an hour, definitely was a disappointment and not worth the money.

Where to begin we were in Hickory for the week of July 4th and wanted to take our hosts out to dinner on Saturday evening to thank them for their hospitality. They chose Rule and were excited for us to dine there. They told us people compared Cafe Rule to Ruth’s Chris.The first glitch was the waitress told us they were out of three items on the menu. It’s not that big of a menu so that really narrowed our choices. The couple we were with ordered a pizza for the wife and the husband ordered the scallops with Mac and cheese. Like Ruth’s Chris the menu is ala carte so the Mac and cheese was $10. My wife also ordered the scallops and I ordered the crab cakes. About 10 minutes later our waitress came back to inform us they were also out of scallops. UGH! Our friend then ordered salmon and my wife ordered the snapper. After another 30 minutes our food arrived. Except for the $10 Mac and cheese. Our waitress apologized and said she forgot to order the Mac and cheese and we would not be charged for it. My crab cakes were clearly scorched black on the outside and tasted burnt. When we had finished eating the Mac and cheese arrived. Another UGH! For what this restaurant charges they should never be out of almost half the entrees on their dinner menu, their service should be impeccable and the food should be perfectly prepared and delicious. The only resemblance I saw between Cafe Rule and Ruth’s Chris are the prices. Do not bother apologizing or giving your phone number. I won’t call you and I won’t ever come back to Cafe Rule.

Emma was our Server June 28/2024 at Cafe Rule in Hickory. I made a comment on how well she was doing as a waitress and she said she had only been there a short time! Well she is phenomenal! Knew about food choices and made recommendations and we had a great experience!!! Hats off to Emma!!

We decided to drive there from Mooresville on Saturday for our anniversary dinner. My husband loves the calamari. The calamari, broccoli baffle and sides were delicious. Our steaks were extremely tough and a major disappointment. A $55.00 steak should never be this tough. I ordered my steak medium and my husband ordered well done but his steak was still really pink inside. Our server was very pleasant. We've eaten here several times but this was definitely a major disappointment.

The food was good, but sitting outside amongst the foliage on a nice summer evening was awesome!